Digital Innovation AW12

This London Fashion Week, starting 17th February 2012, the British Fashion Counci (BFC) continues to unite fashion and digital innovation, encouraging engagement with this global fashion showcase through social media, live streaming and pioneering new technologies.

The digital schedule is the strongest yet: 46 shows will be live streamed – 22 from the The Courtyard Show Space at Somerset House, 12 from the new Embankment Galleries Show Space at Somerset House, 8 courtesy of Topshop from their official Topshop venue, 1 Old Billingsgate Walk, 2 courtesy of Topman, as well as shows around the city including Burberry Prorsum and Roksanda Ilincic. Anyone can watch the shows at home (www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/live) or on the outdoor LED screen in the courtyard at Somerset House.

As part of their role as official digital showcasing partner of London Fashion Week, Canon are sponsoring the Cinema and Screening Room for the first time. The BFC Fash/On Film sponsored by River Island panel has curated a dedicated fashion film programme, as part of the Digital Schedule, to be screened in the Canon Cinema each day of London Fashion Week, with highlights including an afternoon of animation and six menswear films by director Jez Tozer. Members of the panel will host Q&A sessions at screenings with directors, film makers and designers.

The BFC are once again working closely with Twitter to promote conversation around London Fashion Week using the hashtag #LFW and by mentioning the official account @LondonFashionWk. Q&A sessions will be held over the 6 days of LFW from the @LondonFashionWk account. Tweeters can pose questions in real time to guests including Anya Hindmarch (designer and BFC Non Executive Director), Alice Temperley (who will be talking about her show and film screening which is part of Fash/On Film) and Dylan Jones (Editor, GQ and Chair of the Fashion 2012 Menswear Committee), using the hashtag #AskLFW. The London Fashion Week Timeline will take to Twitter, keeping track of the shows throughout the week with live updates of start times (#LFWtimeline).

For the first time, we will have a dedicated photographer backstage at London Fashion Week to capture a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look for broadcast exclusively on CBS Outdoor UK’s network of Cross-track Projection (XTP) screens on London Underground platforms. This will be projected alongside highlights from the @LondonFashionWk Twitter feed and a news feed. This activity is part of an ongoing partnership with CBS Outdoor UK.

Aurasma will be bringing LFW to digital life this season. Aurasma is a new technology that’s capable of recognising images and objects in the real world and seamlessly integrating them with rich video content and audio. Using their mobile device, visitors simply need to download the free Aurasma Lite app and then hold it over the LFW image, at which point it will spring to life and bring you exclusive video content. For the very first time, Exhibition passes will provide a constant stream of live content – linking them directly to our latest Tweets through Aurasma. This is the first time this technology has been used. Covers of The LFW Daily newspaper will transform into exclusive video content. Inside you'll find Catwalk Highlight shots that turn into shows through Aurasma.

The BFC website has been re-launched recently, providing designers, press, buyers and the public with a dynamic platform to present the wide range of events, business support and news from the organisation. Highlights include a live feed of the best blogs from our Blog Portal, a press kit with full archive of press releases grouped by initiative, an archive of designer profiles and an events calendar of all our activity which can be downloaded to the user’s personal diary. This coincides with the launch of the dedicated BFC Twitter account (@BFC).

The BFC’s digital innovation strategy aims to harness technology and creativity to promote British designers to global audiences.